The Euro—a Cohesive or Destructive Force in the European Economy?: Year In Review 2012

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Two events might have enhanced the global perception of Europe in 2012. The first, which occurred on January 1, was the 10th anniversary of the official introduction of the euro, a currency borne out of the political desire to make the European Union (EU) a single economic and monetary union. It was the single currency provided for in the Maastricht Treaty and was being managed by the European Central Bank (ECB) established in Frankfurt, Ger. By the end of 2012, the degree of integration varied. The EU contained 27 member countries in 2012, but only 17—including France, Germany, Italy, and Spain—had adopted the euro. Ten countries, the U.K. among them, retained their national currencies and were outside the euro zone. On its anniversary the euro was in crisis, and while the German finance minister hailed it as a success story, he also warned heavily indebted member countries such as Italy and Greece of the need for austerity. German Chancellor Angela Merkel went farther and warned that Europe had a long way to go before the euro crisis could be overcome. The dream of a united Europe with a single currency at its centre had turned into a nightmare. Blame was placed variously on Germany, southern Europe, and “Anglo-Saxons.” There was no anniversary celebration of the euro.

Two jobless Italian railway workers on April 2, 2012, pass the time playing cards in a tent near …

Luca Bruno/AP

Two iconic London taxicabs built by Manganese Bronze drive through Parliament Square in October …

The second event occurred on October 12, when it was announced that the EU institutions unexpectedly had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for having “contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.” The announcement coincided with the most traumatic period and severest recession in the history of the EU, where social unrest and national strikes—triggered by rising taxes, increasing unemployment, and continuing hardship—were frequent and disruptive occurrences. News of the award prompted a squabble among EU politicians and the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Parliament, and the president of the European Council as to who should attend the Nobel presentation on December 10 in Oslo. Finally the EU decided it would send three people: Commission Pres. José Manuel Barroso, Council Pres. Herman Van Rompuy, and Parliament Pres. Martin Schulz. The award was greeted by many with skepticism and disbelief rather than pride. The Nobel announcement came the same week as a sudden veto by Germany of an intended $50 billion merger between Europe’s largest defense firm, the U.K.’s BAE Systems, and the Franco-German aerospace company EADS. The deal would have created a more integrated European defense and aerospace industry at a time when defense budgets were being cut. The 11th-hour veto of the deal by German Chancellor Merkel demonstrated the lack of political trust that persisted in the EU. The strong corporate support for the merger had been backed by the German, French, and U.K. governments after national security concerns had been satisfied by creating so-called “golden shares,” which would have afforded the countries the unilateral right to reject potential takeover bids of the merged company. The veto raised questions over the feasibility of any moves toward closer integration of Europe.

In 2012 the euro remained centre stage in Europe, and fears of a breakup of the currency union created uncertainty in world markets. The euro-zone debt crisis led to a flight of money from European stocks that brought share trading to a 12-year low in September. Cross-border lending in Europe declined, and from the start of the euro-zone crisis in 2008 until early 2012, Germany and France had cut their exposure to the five indebted so-called periphery countries—Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Spain. The movement of capital, which commenced again later in 2012, had been largely replaced by financial activity between central banks, while consumer and investor confidence remained low. Fears of crisis exacerbated by concerns of a possible Greek exit from the euro zone undermined the economy, although there were periods when actions by the European Central Bank briefly restored optimism. Concern that Spain, Portugal, and Italy might go the same way as Greece persisted throughout the year, causing adverse effects on investors, firms, and consumers alike. Austerity measures dampened growth and created more unemployment, particularly among young people. The euro-zone GDP had risen by 1.4% in 2011, but the zone’s economy was officially back in recession with a contraction for 2012 of about 0.5%. Unemployment rose for the fifth consecutive year, reaching 11.8% in November, while job growth declined by nearly one percentage point. Outside the EU the emerging countries of central and eastern Europe suffered a decline in trade and capital inflows because of the euro-zone crisis, and their GDP was expected to fall to 2%, following a rise of 5.3% in 2011. The Russian economy grew by 3.7% (down from 4.3% in 2011) and provided some impetus.

Within the euro zone the economic performances of individual countries varied greatly. Problems persisted with the indebted periphery economies from which there was continuing capital flight back to the more creditworthy of the core euro and EU countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.K. In the U.K., 10-year borrowing costs reached a record low of 1.4%; however, the country was unable to avoid a double-dip recession, and its inflation rate remained stubbornly above 2%, a condition that was not helped by increased fuel and food prices. Elsewhere outside the EU, Switzerland was inundated with foreign currencies seeking a safe haven, with revenues reaching $420 billion in July—up 11% from June. Since May the Swiss National Bank (SNB) had been buying tens of billions of euros to hold down the value of the Swiss franc to 1.20 against the euro. The greater stability of the euro toward the end of the year enabled the SNB to diversify its holdings. Because it was impossible for euro-zone countries to devalue the currency, the risks were reflected in higher costs of government and bank borrowing. The cost of borrowing for Spain reached record highs as its banks struggled with rising losses on property loans and pressure to give financial assistance to the heavily indebted regional governments in Catalonia and Andalusia. EU leaders and policy makers responded with various initiatives. In June Spain agreed to restructure its banking sector in return for up to €100 billion (about $130 billion) from the EU, but yields on Spanish debt continued to rise. Europe’s leaders then responded with a plan to allow the euro zone’s rescue fund to bypass governments and lend to banks directly. In December the euro zone’s largest banks were placed under a single supervisor as a first step toward implementation of the plan.

Germany was the major beneficiary of the euro. The country’s real GDP rose 3% in 2011 and, following a slowdown, was expected to grow by 0.9% in 2012. In all, eight of the euro-zone economies grew over the year. France was heavily indebted and had been losing its competitiveness, but although it was downgraded from its AAA credit rating twice in 2012, it surprised observers with a modest 0.2% increase in the third quarter, thereby avoiding recession. Economic output declined in Spain, Italy, and Portugal, whereas the economy of Ireland, previously the “sick man of Europe,” grew by an estimated 0.4% in 2012.

A major cause of unrest in much of Europe was unemployment. The 11.8% unemployment rate for euro-zone workers in November obscured the fact that a very high proportion of young people had never held a job. Unemployment in Germany had fallen steadily since 2007, but in Greece and Spain more than a quarter of the workforce was jobless. Portugal and Ireland also experienced high levels of joblessness, and in Cyprus, France, and Italy the rate exceeded 10%. Outside the euro zone, unemployment in the U.K. fell to 7.8% in October, and there were notably low rates of 3% in Norway and Switzerland. Amid the gloom there were positive signs that labour-market reforms made since the crisis began in 2008 were working. Unit labour costs were dropping in Spain and most dramatically in Ireland, where they had fallen by 42% in manufacturing over three years, giving its exports a competitive edge.

The recession and flight of capital to the more creditworthy countries were reflected in a slowdown in merger and acquisition activity. In the first three quarters of the year, European deals were valued at $454 billion, a drop of 23% from the same period in 2011. In value terms Germany led the deals with 28% of the total, followed by the U.K. and Ireland with 25%. The energy, mining, and utilities sector continued to dominate, with 235 deals taking a market share of 26%, followed by industrials and chemicals (15%) and financial services (13%). The decline firmed in the third quarter, when deals worth $99 billion were down 46% from the second quarter and 40% from the same 2011 period.

Europe’s automobile industry, excluding those of Germany and the U.K., was in crisis and the focus of much attention. About 2.3 million people were employed directly in the manufacture of motor vehicles and components, with the industry supporting a total of more than 12 million European jobs. The mass-market carmakers were the mainstay of many countries suffering badly from excessive sovereign debt and the continuing recession. Falling demand and overcapacity led to factory closures, and there was little prospect of an improvement for several years. Fiat SpA was one of the worst-affected companies, with its European sales down 18% from 2011 (for the first two quarters) and sinking to 50-year lows. Fiat temporarily laid off workers in the first half of December but did not plan to close any plants in Europe, despite running at below half capacity. Instead, it was planning to concentrate on exports and to restructure its production of premium models, such as Alfa Romeo and Maserati, and to reduce its dependence on sales of lower-value cars in the southern Mediterranean. In July French automaker Peugeot Citroën announced plans to cut 6,500 jobs, and the closure of its biggest car plant in France (near Paris) caused shock waves in the new government and unions. A €7 billion (about $9 billion) government rescue plan was announced in October to provide loans to car buyers and dealers subject to conditions related to management and dividend payments, but the longer-term future of the industry remained uncertain.

Germany’s Volkswagen remained in a different league from its European rivals and continued to make progress toward achieving its goal of becoming the biggest and most profitable carmaker in the world. Car sales rose 11% in 2012, topping nine million. Nevertheless, operating conditions were becoming more difficult, with falling demand in western Europe, where it had nearly a quarter share of the market, and in South America. In addition, price competition was increasing. Although the company’s sales declined 6.5% in western Europe in 2012, VW experienced a record year, thanks to strong performances in North America (up 26%), Russia (up almost 40%), and Asia (up 23%). At the end of 2012, VW owned 10 brands, ranging from truck makers Scania and MAN to carmakers Audi, Skoda, Lamborghini, Bentley, and Bugatti. In July it reached a long-sought agreement to purchase for €4.5 billion (about $5.7 billion) the half of Porsche it did not already own. Daimler, the German maker of trucks and Mercedes-Benz, faced greater competition in the Chinese market and weaker demand in the U.S. In the U.K. the car industry continued to thrive, with 84% of its 2011 output of 1.34 million vehicles mostly expensive niche-market cars that were exported, while less-expensive cars were imported for its home market. The industry was helped by the low value of the pound sterling and a relatively high rate of productivity. Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota, Nissan, and Honda continued to invest, and U.K. factories were running at more than 80% capacity, compared with below 50% capacity in Spain and less than 70% in France and Italy. There were, nevertheless, casualties, with Ford closing factories and the maker of the classic London taxi, Manganese Bronze, going out of business.

Despite the global slowdown, international tourism remained as strong in 2012 as it had been in 2011, when it generated earnings, including international-passenger transport, of $1.2 trillion. In western Europe, which was the most-visited regional destination, the number of arrivals rose 3% in the first eight months of the year compared with the same period in 2011, when its 509 million arrivals accounted for 51.4% of the world total. The picture was mixed across Europe, with an above-average increase in arrivals of 9% in central and eastern Europe, whereas visitors to southern and Mediterranean countries rose just 1%. Three European countries were among the top five tourist countries measured by earnings, with revenue increases led by Germany (7%), France (5%), and the U.K. (4%—helped by the impetus provided by its hosting of the Olympic Games). Smaller countries that saw rapid growth were Sweden (26%), Poland (19.2%), and Croatia (10%). Among the top spenders were Russia and Germany, which increased their expenditures by 15% and 5%, respectively, while Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, and Poland experienced a double-digit growth in spending.

Although the tourist industry was buoyant, European airlines were forecast to lose $1.2 billion in 2012, following a profit of $400 million in 2011. Apart from the austerity in much of the region and fears that the euro-zone crisis would deepen, another factor that contributed to the deterioration was a decline in the number of first- and business-class passengers, particularly on transatlantic and other long-haul flights. European airlines were highly regulated and taxed, and their air-traffic-control systems needed modernization. Many of the formerly state-controlled airlines had not changed their working practices to match the efforts of the new more competitive lines. A controversial carbon charge imposed by the EU on airlines flying into and out of Europe proved to be extremely unpopular, and in November the EU announced a one-year suspension of the charge on flights outside the EU but not on internal EU flights.

By the end of the year, many problems in Europe remained. On November 22–23 a special EU summit was held to negotiate a €1.1 trillion (about $1.4 trillion) budget for 2014–20. The U.K. insisted that the budget be held at 2011 levels, given that most EU governments were imposing austerity measures and reducing public spending. Its demand for budget discipline was supported by the Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany. Although the budget provided a lifeline for several countries—including Spain and Greece—spending such as the planned increase for the Brussels bureaucracy was seen as an unnecessary extravagance. The failure to reach an agreement reflected the difficulty in reconciling the different ideologies and objectives of the EU members.

The indebtedness of Greece continued to undermine the euro zone. The intervention of the IMF at the end of November allowed Greece to avoid a €5 billion (about $6.3 billion) default on its debt. The IMF argued—to the chagrin of Germany—that the austerity measures being imposed on Greece were too harsh and that some of the country’s debt should be written off. Finally an agreement was reached between the IMF and euro-zone finance ministers that reduced the interest rate that Greece paid, deferred its interest payments, and doubled its debt-maturity term to 30 years. It was hoped that this would restore confidence in the shrinking Greek economy.

The EU crisis had already led to the fall of governments, but during the year heightened political and social tensions were beginning to threaten the survival of nation states. In Spain the Catalans’ desire for separation was strengthened by the need for Catalan nationalist politicians to request bailout funds from the central government, to which they felt they had paid a disproportionate share of taxes. In September 1.5 million people attended an independence rally in Barcelona under the slogan “Catalonia, a new state in Europe.” A referendum on secession from Spain was almost certain after pro-referendum parties won 87 of 135 seats in Catalonian regional elections in November. In the U.K. calls from Scotland to be given independence were being given legitimacy, and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond and British Prime Minister David Cameron signed an agreement giving Holyrood the right to hold an independence referendum in 2014. In 2012 there was strong opposition to independence in Scotland, but a breakup of the U.K. was possible. In Belgium there was pressure from Flanders, the prosperous Dutch-speaking northern half of the country, to separate from Francophone Wallonia in the south and, perhaps, from the EU itself.

Croatia’s scheduled accession in July 2013 demonstrated that countries still perceived membership in the union as an advantage. As 2012 drew to a close, however, it was clear that the euro, the EU, and the European economy were going to change, but when and how remained the big questions.